1.8 The Kickoff Job

The catwalk above the shark tank collapses
Mac disarms the bomb with an ice sculpture
Nash slides across the roof of the building into the stolen bus and blows a kiss
Maddie slow motion walking into the Paris club
Mac in a bikini on a beach
Nash drops the Sisi Star from his hand on the roof of the Sydney Opera House
Maddie drops the sandbag onto Dawn Montana
Mac hands out a ton of of fake Sisi Stars
Luke kissing Danya
Danya directing Nash with her hands on proper tough guy etiquette
Nash and Ninotchka going through the bus window
Mac hands off the dossier out of nowhere to Raphael
Maddie shoves Cormac in the portable fridge
Nash and Maddie zip up the elevator shaft
Danya and Luke face off in the hotel room
Maddie crawling through the air-ducts
Danya and Luke teaming up on some suckers
Luke picks up the Scotch as it arrives in the VIP room
Nash getting hit on by Katherine Hanratty while wearing a priest outfit
Maddie gets Raphael's necklace
Luke brutally taking out his competition
Mac clones the cell phone on the tray
Luke having a drink with Julia
Danya dances a jig with the archbishop
Nash handcuffed to the bed
Maddie holding a gun in a swimsuit
Luke punching out the DJ
Nash surrounded by K-Rome's crew
Mac offering a cutting sideways glance
Danya leaning against the doorway before dealing with K-Rome's crew
Maddie admiring K-Rome's obnoxiously overblinged Desert Eagle
Luke on stage with Loretta
Nash ziplines into the thugs
Maddie giving her leadership speech
The door shuts on Danya and Sterling
Luke takes out the SWAT guy
Nash making his exit with the girls
Maddie's Quick Change
Danya drops Poston
Mac and Nash kiss to dodge the guards
Langley badass walk




We open inside the penthouse. No easily recognizable landmark out the window. It looks like they just finished a job rather than are waiting for Mr. X to call. Luke is in a tux and Danya is in a ridiculous showgirl outfit. This is probably a reference to the "lost" casino heist episode set in Asia. They are counting up their ill-gotten gains when the Red Smartphone goes off. Except this time, Mr. X doesn't have much time for chat.

MR. X: You have been eliminated from the competition. You have thirty seconds until the authorities arrive at your location. Thanks for playing!

Luke and Nash share a look that sets slashfic writers stumbling for their keyboards. They have a plan in place, of course. Luke takes the case full of money and throws it through the window. Nash heads to the closet and bolts down the descender.  Luke heads to the front door as we cut to a bunch of SWAT guys pouring into the hallway. Danya and Mac look at each other. Of course the boys had a plan. Mac and Maddie get the gear on for the rapid descent. Danya gives Mac her ridiculous feathered headdress for luck - and to cover her eyes for the ride down.

Danya takes up a flanking position on the door opposite Luke.


LUKE: Close your eyes and open your mouth.

 A great facial reaction from Danya but before she can crack wise the plan is in motion. Luke opens the door, pulls one of the pins on a flashbang attached to the lead SWAT guy and kicks him back through the door.

Nash leaps off the balcony with the girls. The headdress flutters furiously in the wind. They hit the ground running, each splitting off into their own direction.

Luke and Danya take the hard way out, though the authorities. It's an amazing thing to see them fighting together. We've seen glimpses of it in the past but there is a lovely extended sequence here.

Mac and Nash make it out past the authorities. Of course, they make it out by making out...which explains where that segment in the credits comes from. Seems like the clever plan is for Maddie to draw out the cops and...no, wait she breaks out into a flat run here. Uh oh, Maddie is Made.

Danya drags an unconscious officer into the elevator with Luke. He starts changing into the officer's uniform when suddenly Danya slaps him.

DANYA:That one's on credit for this plan.

She slumps into his arms. Luke, dressed as an officer, carries the unconscious showgirl out of danger and past the security line.

DANYA: You want to keep that hand you better move it.
LUKE: Have to make it look convincing.

Maddie's being chased through the streets of Macau. Luke and Mac help her out on comms as much as they can but she makes a bad turn into a dark alley...and leaps up into a tiny ventilation grate because she is literally a Little Devil. The cops run past and Maddie drops back down looking fabulous in an entirely different outfit. I don't know if that was All Part of the Plan, but she sure looked good doing it. Either way, Mr. X Made It Personal.

The crew gets out of town to an abandoned CIA listening post somewhere in the jungles of Southeast Asia. I don't know where Mac gets these real estate listings but they have some impressive stuff lying around.

NASH: This is three year old tech that never got released.
MAC: Two, actually.

After that breathless action sequence, the Crew has a few moments to figure out what happened. It seemed inevitable they were going to lose the competition. Luke rarely followed Mr. X's orders and in quite a few episodes did so only so far as it was useful and then did whatever the hell he wanted. Speaking of which, Maddie is out in the jungle heat alone. Looks like things between her and Luke are still unresolved.

Mac reminds everyone that Agent Poston isn't who she says she is. Luke's ex-spy sense is tingling and his suspicions are confirmed when Mac track's the now-defunct Red Smartphone's signal back to a number in Washington, D.C.

NASH: I haven't gone to DC since my junior year field trip.
LUKE: I haven't been there since they buried me.

Nash has a great callback to the season premiere when he mouths off and goes colorblind for a second.

NASH: Great, we're dealing with a bunch of lousy spooks.
LUKE: Spooks, huh?

Maddie approaches Mac outside. She's desperate to find out what happened to Eric. She wants the GPS info from the chopper so she can send her brothers in the military after Eric. She promises Mac that they'll haul him in. What tips it over the top is her confession that she has no delusions of a happy ending with Eric. She also offers to take Mac dancing after they fix things.

MADDIE: No con, just dancing.


We jump to Washington, DC. The number leads them to a famous address - a pay phone near the Jefferson Memorial. Danya thinks its a dead end.

DANYA: Its 1060 West Addison all over again. (Everyone looks at her dumbfounded )
No baseball fans? Blues Brothers? It's a fake number. I can't believe nobody got that.
MAC: I didn't either and I get everything...

But Luke notices the gift shop is stacked with Federal Agents watching the pay phone. They discuss their plans when someone walks in to use the phone.

Diana is here. Yes, Luke's old partner/flame from his old crew. She's wounded and surrounded by Feds before the Crew can get to her. This doesn't stop Luke, who naturally takes the Direct approach. Except he's surprised by the identity of the Fed he grabs. Danya's sister whispers in his ear. Lexi, What Are You Doing?

ALEXIA: My pistol is under my left arm and unholstered. Make it convincing.

Most of the Crew gets out of the monument via a stolen ambulance. Except Luke is Made. Maddie swoops in as a tour guide to foul the Feds' pursuit. Nash hangs back and steals a car to cut off the Fed's pursuit. The escape isn't without complications. Diana is Wounded.Nash steals a senators car. Maddie is recognized before she gets on the bus with the kids. Agent Poston is on the scene and picks her up. Nash watches her get taken away.

In the ambulance, Diana gives the lowdown. Her team lost as well, except a hit team was sent to eliminate them. There's some tension between her and Danya. Danya tries to sedate her, but Diana twists Danya's wrist and Takes Danya down. As the drugs take hold, Danya looks at Luke...


DANYA: I blame you.

In the front of the ambulance, Mac and Alexia are chatting.

ALEXIA: Should we give them privacy?
MAC: No.

Alexia dug around on Poston and found connections to the CIA before Poston dropped off into black bag land. She realized that she was out of her league and knew that her sister was in danger. She knew something happened in Macau and that they would probably end up in Washington. Poston was connected to something called the Green Initiative. Alexia was pretty sure it had little to do with using less forms around the CIA offices.

In the car ride to Langley, Poston and Maddie snipe at each other. Poston drops a bomb - they found Eric and he's working for the Green Initiative.

The team heads to their DC safehouse hidden above a ramshackle Chinese restaurant. The safehouse itself is top shelf even if the building is unremarkable.

MAC: I got it because of the view.

Nash arrives with the bad news about Maddie. Also, Senator Goddard's Car is Ruined.

NASH: I just forged the signature of a senator's son.
LUKE: This always happens when I come to DC


To get Maddie out, they have to go into the heart of the beast - CIA headquarters in Langley, VA. Luke's plan involves him and Diana on the inside and the rest of the Crew making sure they get out.

LUKE: I thought you were going to say somewhere tough.
MAC: Langley's not very tall. That's something.


On the inside, we get an awesome series of scenes featuring Maddie and Poston interrogating each other. Even though Poston is the one in charge, Maddie is masterful at getting information out of her. Poston's claim about Eric is a bluff. The losers of the competition end up in Poston's program.

Poston comes out on the wrong end and leaves Maddie to stew. Poston Needs Maddie to Get Out. Seconds later, Luke and Diana arrive.


LUKE: You wanna get out of here?
MADDIE: I thought you'd never ask.

Poston gets into an elevator. Just before the doors close, someone squeezes in. The other rider turns and we see it's Danya. She throws the first punch just as the doors close.

Nash prints off CIA badges somewhere inside the building. He drops them down a ventilation shaft, where Luke and Diana catch them without breaking stride.

Poston takes Danya's first punch well and answers with a few of her own.

Mac erased the security footage and has the car waiting in the parking lot.

Danya fights back, hitting Poston with a nasty elbow.

Maddie's flashback as she walks out of the bulding is of her bugging Poston during their long drive. Danya knew right where to find her.

Poston gets inside Danya's guard and crushes Danya against the wall with a few headbutts.

Nash hops in an elevator wearing a nice suit. The analyst smiles at him as the door closes. When it opens again, he's writing down her number.

Poston and Dany are nowhere to be found, because she's wheeling Poston to Mac's car in the parking lot. Her flashback shows that Poston put herself in a perfect position for Danya's patented sleeper. Danya got out through the elevator shaft.

We get an awesome slow motion exit shot of everyone leaving the premises. That's got to be going in next year's credit sequence.

Back at the safehouse, though, things aren't less than perfect. Maddie and Luke have it out in front of the rest of the crew.

MADDIE: Why is saving someone like Cormac okay?

She can't get past what happened at the Isla Diablo.

LUKE: If it wasn't Eric, would it matter?

It looks like this rift is the one being set up for next season since things between Luke and Danya are better.. The argument is serious, but they still manage to lip in some of that trademark snark. Luke mentions that Cormac would never deal with the IRA, and Maddie uses that to try and make a point.

LUKE: We dropped those guys into a shark tank-
MADDIE: That was self-defense.

Things are left in a bad place. Luke takes off with Diana to parts unknown. Maddie tries to make her case to the rest of the crew but it doesn't seem to take.

We find Luke the next morning at Arlington National Cemetery. More specifically, Danya does. Diana is nowhere to be found. Luke tells Danya about his history, starting with his real name.

LUKE: John Henry Smith dies in a Bosnia crash in the 90's. All aboard were lost. People keep looking to me to lead them and I keep getting them killed.

Danya hits Luke again.

DANYA: You really think we don't need you? After all of this? After the good we've done? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.

Luke gets in Danya's face.

LUKE: You know I'm going after him. I'm the only one that can take him down. You don't need me to put you all in danger. I-

For the first time in the series, Danya touches Luke's face...tenderly.

DANYA: I can't speak for all of us, but-

Danya kisses Luke softly.

DANYA: I need you.

Looks like Luke's resolved his tension with one teammate just in time to start with someone else.

The team finds airline tickets to New York City at the safehouse. They check out the lead, since the tickets are made out in their names. They make it to the secure first class lounge where they find a single occupant. The bartender turns around and it's TV's John Glover! He gets about two words in and it's pretty clear that he's Mr. X here for some face time with our heroes.

X reveals the plans behind the competition. The crew for his job is made up of the survivors of the other crews and he knew that nobody would turn on Luke. Of course, he looks directly at Maddie as he says this. He respects Luke for his creative interpretations of the rules and understands that he's coming for X. X offers Luke two cases - his past or his future. In one, all of X's information on Luke's old Mastermind. In the other, X lays out the target for his all-star crew. Luke gets to open one case.

Without hesitation, Luke picks the case with the target. X trades a few more barbs with everyone and leaves. The case pops open and things get deathly serious.

LUKE: They are going after The Football.
MAC: What?
NASH: Like the nuclear one?


There's a stunned moment of silence. Luke takes a moment and gets ready to make a big speech.

LUKE: You can all walk away now. I understand. But I'm going after him -

The rest of the Crew doesn't take long to mess up his speech and agree to help him take down their former employer.

NASH: Who's our first target?

MAC: I've already complied a list.

DANYA: No headdresses this time, or else.


All except Maddie.

MADDIE: I need to go to the bathroom.


Credits.

Assets:
Mr. X Made It Personal
Lexi, What Are You Doing?
Poston Needs Maddie to Get Out

Complications:
Maddie is Made
Diana is Wounded
Luke is Made
Senator Goddard Car is Ruined